World Events

• Benazir Bhetto is elected first woman president of Pakistan.
• European Economic Community eliminates trade barriers.
• Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas is raided by federal agents for firearms violations: 4 agents and 5 Davidians die in 51-day standoff, ending in a fire that kills 76 people.
• President Clinton signs into law the North American Free trade Agreement. He also announces his “Don’t ask, Don’t tell” policy regarding “gay” individuals serving in the military.
• Janet Reno of Florida is confirmed by the US Senate as the first female Attorney General, remaining in office for the entire Clinton presidency.
• IBM announces  $4.97 billion loss for 1992, the largest single-year corporate loss in U.S. history
• The Holocaust Museum opens in Washington, DC. In London, for the first time, the public is allowed inside Buckingham Palace.
• Stephen Hawkins’s A Brief History of Time holds first place on Sunday Times list for a record number of weeks. Prize-winning Book: A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain, Robert Olen Butler.  The Academy Awards: “Schindler’s List” (US), Belle Epoque (Spain).

In Salem

This year at City View Cemetery, Al Jones takes several photographs of the traditional Memorial Day ceremony. On the platform, the dignitaries and some of the many veterans in attendance appear to be bowing their heads, perhaps for prayer.
City View Cemetery, adjacent to the west of Pioneer Cemetery, was founded in 1893. To honor past military sacrifice and veterans, there are memorials honoring service in the Civil and Spanish-American War, members of the American Legion Post #9, World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Each Memorial Day it has been the custom to hold a special remembrance program by area veterans, dignitaries, and a fly-over by the Oregon Air National Guard. Four times a year, an avenue of flags is displayed honoring the veterans of our armed forces. Each Christmas is commemorated by a large noble fir Christmas tree that holds special ornaments with dedicated nametags to remember loved ones.
Al Jones, a former sports reporter for the Statesman Journal, was a familiar figure in Salem for many years as he attended public events and ceremonies, always with his camera ready to take pictures. He is credited with saving a number of historic Salem photographs that were about to be thrown away and adding them to his large collection. Kept for many years in the basement of his Church Street home, he has donated this collection to Marion County Historical Society. It is hoped that these photographs will be archived and made available for future historical research.

When you visit
This dramatic 2008 photograph of the Civil War memorial at City View illustrates one of the military features of the cemetery. An office at the edge of the property, on Hoyt Street, has personnel who can help visitors locate graves of interest both in City View and in Pioneer Cemetery. Among the gravestones in Pioneer, you will find early families whose names are recognized in Salem history: Leslie, Bush, Patton, Holman, McNary, Moores, Dickenson, Buren, and many others. Their online directory can identify both names and location of graves.
A recent project in Pioneer Cemetery has discovered the previously unmarked graves of African-Americans of Salem. A handsome marker identifies this remarkable research.
Both cemeteries are beautiful places of reflection and repose. A collection of photographs has been added to the online Pioneer feature.

Other events

• The Scotts Mills earthquake, known as the Spring Break Quake is felt all over the Willamette Valley at about 5:30 a.m. on March 25. The Capitol is damaged. The epicenter was located about 3 miles east of town. The United States Geological Survey reported that strong motion instruments recorded peak ground accelerations of .06 at Detroit  Dam, 27 miles tot he southeast. Most structural damage consisted of toppled chimneys and failure of walls of unreinforced masonry. Few injuries were reported, perhaps because of the early hour of the quake.
• The Chamber of Commerce, looking forward to building a new facility, considers a site in Marion Square Park, now neglected and in poor condition. They ultimately choose the present location at Market and Commercial streets.
• Silver Falls, our largest state park, is dedicated. June Drake, a Silverton photographer, ran a three-decade campaign to preserve the scenic area from commercialization. Canyon Trail (770k) leads hikers past 10 waterfalls in amphitheater surroundings that allow visitors to walk behind the falls.
• Horizon Airline discontinues service to McNary Airfield. Service was temporarily restored in 2007.
• David Duniway, our first state Archivist,  dies and is commemorated in a profile written by his friend and former co-worker in Oregon historical preservation, Elisabeth Walton Potter.
• The original Leslie Middle School opened its doors on September 19, 1927 on Howard Street. Over the years it added a swimming pool, gymnasium, and cafeteria and became a center of middle school education in Salem. At its peak enrollment, Leslie Middle School had an enrollment of 1,530 students in 1956.In this year, as the enrollment of the adjoining South Salem High School continued to grow, the school district decided to use bond money to build a new Leslie School on Pringle Road. After a prolonged legal challenge to this siting, the land was acquired and the new Leslie School was built at 3850 Pringle Road South.
• The Historic Elsinore Theatre continued as a movie theater until this year, when it is bought by STAGE (Salem Theatre Auditorium Group Enterprise), a non-profit agency and converted into a performing arts center. Since then, with generous local resident support, it has been completely renovated and ranks as one of Salem’s most important cultural resources.
• The Kansas City Royals baseball team drafts Matt Moritz, an alumnus of North Salem High School.
• At Chemeketa Community College on Lancaster Drive, Building 1 is opened, housing the staff offices and campus bookstore. Since then, Chemeketa has grown to multiple campuses and serves over 50,000 students. It offers Associate of Applied Science degrees in more than 40 professional-technical programs, as well as an Associate of Arts—Oregon Transfer and a General Education degree. Chemeketa Community College is well known for its nursing, fire science, viticulture, and electronics programs.
• Oregon has the first statewide, vote-by-mail election in the United States. Ballots are sent out, usually, three weeks before the election date, after a voter’s pamphlet has been distributed. To vote by mail, an individual marks the ballot for their choice of the candidates (or writes in their name), places the ballot in a secrecy envelope, seals it, places it in the provided mailing envelope, seals it and signs and dates the back of the mailing envelope. This envelope is then either stamped and mailed at any mailbox, or dropped off (postage free) at a local ballot collection center.